Cooking, heating, and sterilizing device



mg. 20, 1935 J. s. PECKER 9 COOKING, HEATING AND STERILIZING DEVICE Filed Aug, 5, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet l Aug, 20, 1935. J. 5. PECKER COOKING, HEATING AND STER'ILIZING DEVICE Fil d 5 1953 3 SheetsSheet 2 935. J. s. PECKER COOKING, HEATING AND STERILIZING DEVICE a Sheets-Sheed 5 Filed Aug. 5, 1953 Patented Aug. 20, 1935 PATENTQFFICE COOKING, HEATING, AND STERILIZING DEVICE Joseph 'S.'Pecker,"Arden, DeL, assignor to Research and Manufacturing Corporation, Philadelphia,Pa., a(corporation of Delaware 1 Myjinvention relates'to a new and useful'cook+ I ing, heating and' sterilizing device and it relates more particularly to a heating and sterilizing device especially adapted for heating, and sterilizliingc'ontaine'rs, such as babies milk bottles and andsterilizing device of the general character the like, to sterilize such containers and to warm 7 or heat the contents thereof prior to use or dispensation. I

*My invention still further-relates to adevice 'ofthis general character which is highly expeditious' in its operation, that is, onein-or by which a'bottle'or the like can be heated and/or'sterilized inaminimumof time and at minimum con of br'eaka' ge of a bottle 'or other'container heated; therein'duetoexpansion and contraction, since V v I my invention, shown in use for heating and sterimy novel device precludes the direct contact of the bottlebeing heated and sterilized with? the source 'of' heat or a'nythi'ng inl'contact with the" sourceof heat, thus achieving general and gradu all heating and sterilization lover the" entire surface of theb-ot'tle."

g I .My inventionrstill.

this: character,- the construction of which is-"cale culated to vouchsafe ease of operation'andsafetyf againstdanger of scaling during removal oithe.

heated and sterilized bottle or-iother containerb' 5 lvlyinvention still further relate'sto a device in the cooking or preparation of food by the steaming'process; :1 C

'13 My: invention still "further relates to; a heating described in which the means for supporting the object to beheated, cooked or sterilized, are preferably 'made of non-jhea Econducting fmaterials further to protectagainst exposure'of such ob-I. ject the-undue'and sudden extremes of heat. 1;;

My invention still further relates to,a,heating',

steril i zing ,and cooking device. which is preferablyrprovided with a'l eating element embodied therein, such as an electric heating unit, or the like, to obviate the necessity for external sources further" relates ato' adevice of this character which'is also adapted for cook ing orLp'reparing various items "of food; the cooking of which can be accomplished throiughthef medium'of heat-directly or indirectly applied."v My invention still further relates .to a device of Figs. 1 and 3 taken at right .J Application August 5,19sa'seria1No. 683,824 zoiaims. ((1 99 718) automatically prelimit the amount 'of water introduced into the steam generating chamber to obviate the necessity .for'particular'attention on the; part ofthe user. .1

Myinvention stillfurther relates to a device of this .character which is, provided'with means throughout the device and to guard against the undue overheating of one portion or the other of.

the device or of the objectbeingiheated or cooked or sterilized...

My invention still furtherrelates we device of this character which is inexpensive to produce andeasyto operate."

In the accompanying. drawings; a V

Fig. 1 represents a" vertical sectional view of a heating, sterilizing and cooking device embodying lizing a-babys'milkbottle; J I

. Fig. 3 represents a viewsimilar to Fig. 1' show ing a modified construction.:-

-Fig. 4 represents a fragmentary view and side elevation of the covers of the devices shownin angles showing 'a vent in said covers I Fig. 5 represents aview similar to Fig.1 showing a further modifiedconstruction.

, Fig. 6 represents a view similar to Fig. l' showthe device shown in the open'position permitting the withdrawalof the milk bottle.

Fig. 9 represents a fragmentary plan View of Fig.8.

Referring tothe drawings, in Whichlikereference characters indicate like parts; I designates a casing which in the present instance is shown as tubular or cylindrical, for'use injconnection with a babys milk bottle2, it being understood that the exact .configuration of the casing I may be changed to suit various requirementspiAt the bottom of thecasing I is formed the Well .3 which is relatively large in area .and shallow in depth, as seen in Figs. 1, 3, 5, 6 and 7, said well beingadaptedto contain Water 4, which, when exposed to a source of heat, will evaporate to fill the casing l with steam which surrounds the bottle 2, thereby sterilizing the outer surface of the bottleland nipple and serve ing to warm or heat the contents of the bottle as may be desired, the excess steam being permitted to escape through the vent 5 in' the lid or cover 6. As will be seen from the drawings the cover 6 is detachable from the casing and is constructed to fit within or over the upper rim of the casing in any suitable manner, said cover being also provided with a knob or handle I of heatinsulating material; 'In order to prevent the bottle 2 from coming into direct contact with the bottom of the casing the hot waterQoi other source of heat, which would tendto break the bottle, due to sudden expansion; I provide] a support which is carriedby and suspended from the cover 5, and which is adapted to carry i or support the bottle 2. The bottle support preferably consists of two arms 9 which are engaged at the upper ends ther'eofwith the cover 6, in"

any suitable manner which will permit o fupivoting or deflecting the cover 6 with respect to-the arms 9 in themanner shown. The arms S are' deflected. at their bottom ends to form the horizontal members H! which form a seat for the bottle 2. The free ends of .thehorizontal members ie are bent upwardly to form the arms H, the outwardly deflected ends: 14 .of which are adapted to engage the notches l5 in the upperend of the casing I;to prevent complete withdrawal of the bottle support from thecasing I; when thecover 6 carrying the bottlesupport is raised in the 'manner shown in Figs; '1 and 3 to permit withdrawal of the bottle 2.. -'Ihe"arms' ll maybe of any suitable length or cross sec tion. 'The' well 3 i'sprovided with a valve controlled overflow l5 which is opened when water is introduced into the casing l'in'ord'er to limit the amount of water contained'in the Well 3 and thus to prevent the level of water 4 in said well fromreachingthe'bottom of the bottle 2.

Due to the large area of the well 3 and its rela tive" shallownessponly a'small amount of water is employed so that a relatively short period of heating is required to convert the'water into steam which will completely envelop the-bottle 2, thus sterilizing the nipple l'l thereof and-at} V the same time serving towarm or heat the con-g tents of the bottle. The excess steam formed escapes through the vent 5' ma horizontal direction to prevent'sc'alding of the hands of a person attempting to raise and deflect the cover 6. When it isdesired to remove the sterilized and heated bottle 2, thecover 6 is grasped by r the knob 'i'and raised until thedeflected ends 14 of the arms H and I2 engage the notches ISin the neck of the casingl, whereupon the cover 6 is deflected and the bottle is grasped at a point .below the nipple l1 thereof to prevent contamination of the latter. If it is desired to'remove the bottle support from within the casing I, the upper ends of the arms II and i2 are compressed to permit the deflected ends [4 thereof to clear the notches l5. 7 i p In Fig. 3 is shown'a slightly modified form of construction wherein I employ the bottle sup= port 22 having the deflected upper ends I3 for engaging the notches E5 in the casing l,'to iprevent accidental withdrawal of the bottlesupport from the casing I'but wherein, in lieuof the arms 9; I employa yoke 23 which is pivoted at 2 i'to the cover 6 and at22f to the bottle support Mwhich'may be of any sizeor cross section. At a suitable point along the casing I, I provide a flange 24 which is notched at 25" to per; mit movement therethrough of theparts constituting the bottle support, the purpose of said to produce.

flange being to retard the'upward travel of the steam generated at the bottom of the casing to insure adequate heating of the bottom portion of thebottle 2 or other object, as with such a baffle the steam tends to rise to the top of the casing, thus heating the top of the bottle much more than the bottom portion thereof.

In Fig. 5-. I have shown a modified form of my invention in which I employ a perforated basket 21 for receiving the object to be cooked, heated for sterilized, which basket is pivotally connected to the link 28, which in turn is-pivotally connected to another link or arm 29 which is secured at 30 tothe cover 6. As shown in "dotted lines, in order to raise the basket 21 it is merely necessary to tilt the cover 6 along its hinge 3 I whereupon the arms 29 and 30 assume the positions shown at 32 and '33, "respectively; thereby raising the con;

tainer or basket 21 up to render its contents accessible at the top of the casing I. In this construction; due" to the presence of thefian'ge" or baflle 24, the steam generatedatthe bottom of the casing I cannot pass into the upper portion of the casing except through the openings 34in the container 21 thereby insuring the subjection of the contents of. the basket 21 to the full'force and effect of the steam.

In Fig. 6, I have shown a modification of the.

device shown in Fig. 5 whereinvthe basket 21 is pivotallycarried by the arms 36 which in turn are carried by the cover 6. .In order to remove the'conten'ts of the container-21, the cover 6 is lifted asshown in dotted lines, whereupon it can be deflected completely to expose the contents of the basket21. .If desired, the casing'can be providedwith ahandle 31 Iof a'heat insulating ma-.- terial; Byirefer'ring to Figs. 8 and9-it will be seen that when the cover 6 and the pivotally connected arms 36 areraised'to bring the basket '21 up to the top of the casing I the arms 36 are deflected attheir pivotal'junctionwith the basket 21 into a position at right angles with the casing l-,iwher'eupon;the weight .of the coverj6 will counter-balance the basket 21 in its raised position with the upper edgeof the casing l on which the arms 36 rest acting as a fulcrum. As best seen irriFig. 8, the milk bottle or other objectiin the :basket 21 is thus heldup completely. accessible and is supported in this upper accessible position by the counter-balancing effect of the cover 6 at the other. end of the arms 36 which 'act as fulcrumed levers.

' In Fig. '7,I have illustrated. a manner of providing the devices'shownin -Figs. 1, 3, 5 and 6 withan electric heating unit 38 positioned below 'the'well3, thefdevice being provided with standard' plugs 39 for connectionto a conventional socket which is electrically energized from a source of current not shown. V

The devices shown in Figs. 5. and 6 are particularly suitable for the sterilization of small objects, such as the nipples of the water bottle2' and cooking deviceis'of an extremely simpleconstruction which is not susceptible to damage or 2,01 1,869 injury and which therefore is not likely to get out of order and therefore needs no maintenance or repair. I 1 V 1 It will be understood that the bottle support- 7 5 ing; devices, and their suspensions, may, if de-- sired, be made of a heat insulating material, such as fibre; hard rubber and the like. If desired the flange or baffie'24; for retarding the flow of the steam may be positioned on the upper rim or edge of the bottle supporting devices insteadtot on 1 h v the inner Wall of. the casing, as illustrated in Fig. 6.

Having thus described my invention,'wha t I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A baby bottle warming and sterilizing 'de-- vice comprising a relatively. narrow elongated casing adapted to enclosea baby'bottle, an encover.

larged relatively shallow water chamber formed at the base of said casing, a basket adapted for vertical movement within said casing, a cover for,

the top of said casing, and suspension arms piv otally connected'at their lower ends tovthe upper edge of'said basket and pivoted at their upper ends to said cover. 1 i

2. A baby bottle warming and sterilizingdvice comprising a relatively narrow cylindrical casing adapted to enclose a baby bottleor the like,

an enlarged relatively shallow waterchamber JOSEPH SJPIECKERI. 

